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Owners of Meta’s AI glasses have been told they must pay a monthly fee if they want full access to a feature that was previously free.<\/b><\/p>\n
Users will have to shell out $19.99 every month to use “Conversation Focus”, which uses the microphones on the glasses to make it easier to hear people you’re talking to, for more than three hours a month.<\/p>\n
Meta says those who hit the “free monthly usage limit” will have to wait for their free hours to refresh each calendar month unless they subscribe.<\/p>\n
The social media giant declined to provide a statement, but a spokesperson said the move formed part of its experiments with offering subscriptions for some features while keeping core services free.<\/p>\n
Meta’s plans to test “premium” subscription experiments across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp were first revealed in January.<\/p>\n
The firm later confirmed its tests would include trialling paid access to expanded AI features, including those on its smart glasses.<\/p>\n
A Meta spokesperson told the BBC on Thursday users of its glasses would still have access to other built-in AI features, such as live translation and its voice assistant, without needing a subscription.<\/p>\n
“All AI glasses owners get free monthly usage for certain features,” it says on a help page.<\/p>\n
The company says subscribers to its Meta One Premium tier will be able to use Conversation Focus for up to 15 hours each month.<\/p>\n
Meta One subscriptions are only available in some countries – not including the UK.<\/p>\n
“Putting Conversation Focus behind a paywall feels wrong,” said one user who wrote to Meta Ray-Ban product lead David Woodland.<\/p>\n
“I would gladly subscribe to Meta One, but only if it genuinely offers unlimited access.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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‘Power users’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Meta’s spokesperson told the BBC the majority of its glasses users would not be impacted by its move to limit lengthier Conversation Focus use to subscribers.<\/p>\n
“The subscription is for power users who want expanded access and additional benefits like premium device support,” a Meta spokesperson told The Verge.<\/p>\n
Conversation Focus is also not yet available to Meta glasses owners in the UK.<\/p>\n
It is designed to help users have face-to-face conversations while using glasses features, such as reading notifications aloud, by amplifying the voice of people in front of them.<\/p>\n
Revealed by Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg at a product showcase last September, it was among features hailed by some as providing an accessibility boost.<\/p>\n
While Meta says Conversation Focus should not be used as a hearing aid or medical device, it has championed the accessibility benefits of the feature, and of its glasses more widely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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